Nisa has shaken up the convenience sector with a franchise trial and five new smaller store formats.

The symbol group’s move follows Tesco-owned One Stop’s franchise model, which was launched last year in a bid to tempt independent retailers.

Nisa chief executive Neil Turton told Retail Express: “The bigger challenge for us strategically is around making sure that the symbol group model remains relevant. There’s a lot of activity around franchising at the moment with One Stop and other people and we need to successfully convince retailers that they are better off as part of a symbol group or as an independent retailer rather than selling out.”

Nisa’s franchise model will roll out to a number of stores by the end of 2014, and will encourage retailers to adopt a “highly systemised disciplined approach”, which the group is estimating will net shops an extra 3% in terms of profit through increased sales and greater efficiencies.

This model, if successful, will be an option for retailers joining Nisa alongside five distinct convenience store formats – neighbourhood, high street, small store, forecourt and supermarket.

Turton added: “We looked at some stats the other day and in the last four years in terms of the deliveries Nisa makes, the average delivery size has dropped by 15%, which reflects the fact we've got more small stores. You have to adapt. It’s definitely the future.”

One store in Cardiff saw sales go up by 21% the week after refitting under the new format, while a shop in Peterborough had a 11.5% uplift.